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ADHD Medications and Treatments

ADHD affects an estimated 3% to 5% of children and adults in the U.S. Dr. Richard Sogn shares information and advice about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including its causes, diagnosis, and promising ADHD treatments

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WebMD Health News

Monday, November 28, 2005

Diagnosing ADHD
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A common side effect of stimulants, including caffeine and medications used to treat ADHD, is irritability. Often people respond better to and better tolerate one stimulant over another or become irritable on any stimulant tried. In that case, they can also try Strattera.

Only about 70 - 80% of people with ADHD respond to medications. Whether or not someone responds well or whether or not someone experiences side effects does not mean that someone does or does not have ADHD. The same is true of other medical conditions. If you didn't respond to a high blood pressure medication, you wouldn't say that you didn't have high blood pressure.

It is also possible that the ADHD diagnosis is incorrect. In general, it's possible to see ADHD symptoms at school and not at home, but only rarely the other way around. If no ADHD symptoms occur at school, you have to question the diagnosis and wonder whether or not something is going on at home, whether the child is depressed or anxious, or whether there are other things that could be causing symptoms similar to ADHD at home.

Related Topics: ADHD: Is it Real?, ADHD Overlooked in Girls

Posted by: Richard Sogn, MD at 5:57 AM

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